Our Travel Philosophy
Why do some trips linger in our memory?
Sometimes it’s plain luck. You stop for lunch at a truckstop in France and your ideas about food are transformed. Or you’re hiking the Granada hills and come across a band of flamenco dancers. But, very often, finding what Richard Halliburton calls the “blood and thunder” of a place takes time.
The problem is, we don’t always have this kind of time. We have to water gardens, walk pets, support families.
This is the dilemma that inspired Deep Travel. How can we short-cut deeply into a place and yet keep our travels rich? We’ve concluded that the ideal sojourn is an elixir of camaraderie with independence, effort and relaxation, the exotic with the familiar, structure with serendipity—all accompanied with friendships forged over great food and wine.
We’ve placed those friendships and connections are at the center of our trips. Tim Cahill rightly observed that “trips are best measured in friends, not in miles.” Places speak best through the people who live in them, and so we link up with the photographers, winemakers, innkeepers, writers, chefs and residents that bridge us into the heart of a place. We’ve shared traditional Himalayan meals with Nepalese families, wandered medinas with local photographers, and embarked on roadtrips with the last master storytellers of Morocco.
And, of course, our trips are enriched by your perspective. What can we teach each other about a place? Daily sessions feature simple writing prompts and assignments to help hone your observations. On the last night of each workshop, we often have readings and a celebration where you have an option to share you work (Don’t worry: Although professional writers often join our journeys, experience is not required. Just have a ready-pen and an open mind).
By journey’s-end, you might agree that the best souvenir you bring home is not always a pashmina shawl or a cactus silk scarf, but some new insight, gleaned from moments of self-reflection and discussion.
Deep Travel isn’t a sightseeing tour. We figure you can grab a guidebook and find the “top ten” sights on your own. The goal of Deep Travel is to experience a place as fully as we can.
We look forward to traveling deeply with you!